Clasp.



No. 668,390. Patented Feb. l9, I90l. A. BITTER.

CLASP I. Application filed Aug. 22, 1900.)

(N0 Mndel.)

llnitnn rates PATENT @rrrcn.

ABRAHAM BITTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 668,390, dated February 19, 1901.

Application filed August 22, 1900. :erial No. 27,644. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM BITTER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, (whose post-office address is No. 2 East Nin ety-seventh street, i u said borougln) have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Clasps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in clasps for suspending chatelaine-bags or other articles.

The object of my invention is to provide a hook from which various articles may be suspended and which when used as a support for chatelaine-bags is adapted to be firmly yet detachably secured to a body belt or band worn around the waist.

It is common to suspend various toilet articles, such as chatelaine-bags, vinaigrettes, watches, &c., by means of a hook from a waist-belt. Such hook usually consists of a simple plate of metal bent into an inverted- U shape, and has at the end of one of its legs aloop from which the various articles are suspended. The weight of the suspended articles and tightness of the belt are supposed to keep the hook in place. In practice, however, the motions of the body tend to work the hook out of the belt and it is often lost, with its attachments. My improved clasp is constructed with a fastener which prevents this accident without unsightly protuberance.

It is usual to construct a chatelaine-bag hook of thin flexible metal covered with leather and then bent. In preference to this 1 construct my clasp of two rigid metal plates, one of them having the inverted-U shape to form a hook for attachment to the belt and the other constituting a separate front piece or shield, which may have any desired orna' mental outline and is covered with leather, which may be decorated, if desired, or made to match the bag with which it is to be used.

The parts thus separately madeto wit, the

hook and the front piece or leather-covered shieldare riveted or soldered together, and the front piece or shield not only acts as a cover for the front of the hook, but serves to assist in stiifenin g and strengthening the hook.

My improvement further relates to a par ticular construction of clipping device by which the clasp is secured to the belt or readily detached therefrom, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front View of my improved clasp. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a horizontal section on the line 4, Fig. 2.

A represents the front plate orshield, which is made of a stiff plate of metal and is covered in front with a facing L, of leather, which may be turned back around the edges of the plate and fastened with cement.

The belt-hook Bis constructed in inverted- U form of stifi metal strengthened by a vertical rib r at back and fastened to the back of the plate by riveting or soldering and extending downward, as shown, for the attachment of the hook or loop 0, which projects from the bottom of the clasp for the reception of any article to be carried, such as a bag D.

Mounted in hearings on the inner face of the front leg of the hook B or on the inner face of the plate A is a horizontal rock-shaft E, on the central part of which is a projecting lug F, which may be made integrally with the shaft or separate and secured thereto. One end of the shaft E is bent at right angles to form an operating-handle G, provided at its extremity with a knob g.

H represents a spring-clip riveted at its upper end on the inner side of the plate A or hook B and at its lower end is bent in hori- Zontal position, where it is formed with serrations or teeth h to engage the belt or band on which the book may be placed, so as to securely hold it in position. The spring-clip H retires by its resilience from the hook-plate B when the rock-shaft handle G and lug F are in the retracted position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus releasing the hook and permitting its removal from the belt. When the handle F is thrown up into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the projecting lug G carried thereby presses the spring-clip H into engagement with the belt or band, so as to securely clip the same and prevent the escape of the hook or clasp therefrom. In

this position the handle F of the rock-shaft rests in a nearly vertical position coincident with the front plate A, so as to avoid any projection therefrom, and the lug G on the shaft is so disposed that the pressure of the springclip H tends to hold the parts in the clasped position.

A transverse groove 1) is made in the face of the belt-hook, directly opposite the edge h of the clip H, to render its grip on the belt more secure. The spring-clip H being attached wholly to the front member of the clasp leaves the rear leg of the belt-hook B without any protuberance or obstruction to interfere with inserting it in the belt.

My mode of making the front plate or shield A separately from the belt-hook B has many important practical advantages. The hook requires to be rigid enough to sustain the pressure of the spring-clip, and it would not be practicable to cover with leather a plate possessing the necessary rigidity and subsequently bend it into the form of a hook without cracking or injuring the leather. By making the front piece or shield of a separate piece and covering it with leather I accomplish the double result of having the article look like the ordinary hook and yet of stiffening the article and presenting a firm and strong support for the lever.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of the front plate A, the hook-plate B secured thereto, the springclip H fastened by one end to the plate A and having an inturned serrated free end, the

horizontal rock-shaft E mounted in bearings on the face of the plate A and having operating-handle F projecting from its extremity beyond the edge of the plate A and the projecting lug G fixed to the rock-shaft and operating in conjunction with the spring-clip to force the same into locked position or permit its retirement as described.

2. The combination of the front plate A, the spring hook-plate B, made of a separate piece of metal secured to the front plate A, the spring-clip H secured at one end to the inner face of the plate A, the rock-shaft E v having a projecting handle F and alug G projecting from the shaft at an angle to the handle. F and operating to force the clip-plate H into engagement with the hook-plate B as described.

3. In a chatelaine-bag clasp, the combination of a belt-hook, a covered face-plate made in a separate piece, attached to said hook, a spring-clip attached to the front member of the hook and tending by resilience to retire from the rear leg of the hook, leaving the same free for insertion in the belt and a cam device carried by a rock-shaft mounted on the face-plate to force the spring-clip into locking position, as described.

ABRAHAM RITTER.

Witnesses:

OO'IAVIUS KNIGHT, W. P. HAMMOND. 

